The GnATTERbox

For discussion of the issues faced when building a model or layout - how to replicate wood, what glues to use, exactly how much weathering can a Gnat take, a good source of detailing accessories - you get the picture, I'm sure.

Artizen wrote:Isn't it wonderful to see all this really sincere discussion about what started out as a model gate? Wonderful - I am watching from the sidelines.

The discussion Ian, is not relevant as far as this gate is concerned. Now I happens to know that an Ebenezer (no not Scrooge) Shufflebotham made this gate as he has many hundreds in his time as a carpenter in Haltwhistle for the Fell Farmers thereabouts.
Now Shuffle's as he's known locally, on account of his distinctive gait. [yes gait Gnot Gate] claim to fame is that he's never had a failure of this gate type in the 50 years he's been making them.
OK, if you talk to the farmers thereabouts they'll all have a tale to tell about a broken hinge or a rotten bar however Shuffle soon comes round and puts it to rights. Hence his claim, furthermore he's still using the same spade to dig the posts supports since the day he started, of course, it's had 20 new handles and a tad more new blades but still the same spade.

Gerry Bullock wrote:Now I happens to know that an Ebenezer (no not Scrooge) Shufflebotham made this gate as he has many hundreds in his time as a carpenter in Haltwhistle for the Fell Farmers thereabouts.Now Shuffle's as he's known locally, on account of his distinctive gait. [yes gait Gnot Gate] claim to fame is that he's never had a failure of this gate type in the 50 years he's been making them.

OK, if you talk to the farmers thereabouts they'll all have a tale to tell about a broken hinge or a rotten bar however Shuffle soon comes round and puts it to rights. Hence his claim, furthermore he's still using the same spade to dig the posts supports since the day he started, of course, it's had 20 new handles and a tad more new blades but still the same spade.

Sorry for a blatant hijack, but Gerry set me this one as homework.

Shuffle's lad, known locally for some reason as Gooner, was standing at the bar of Ye Olde Gnatterbox, already halfway down his first Legwarmer of the evening. There was a faint odour of horse-manure about him.

"Bad day?" asked Mike, sensing a story that might sell a few more Legwarmers, which the landlord had grossly over-ordered.

"Well, it's like this. We'd just got the thing up - beautiful, it was..."

"Yes, Shuffle never cuts corners. Another?"

"Don't mind if I do, can you put it on the slate? Well, anyway, as I said, we'd just got the thing up, and I was just getting Muffin ready to take the cart away, when out comes the lady - you know her, all airs and graces, we're tradesmen, not craftsmen, that kind of thing."

"I've seen her, but not to talk to, don't even know her name, she never comes in here."

"Well, she wouldn't would she? You don't serve Pinot Grigio, whatever that is. Well anyway, she looks at it and she sez 'it's the wrong way round.' Well, you know Shuffle."

"Only too well, I remember that night..."

"How could I ever forget. Well anyway, in the end out comes the owner to ask what the problem is."

"He's okay, came in here a few times a while ago, then I saw him with a black eye, said he'd walked into a door or something. Haven't seen him in here since."

"Prolly not. Well, Shuffle tells him the gate's just right. And he sez 'if she want's it the other way round, just do it. And she went in and he handed Shuffle some more money and Shuffle just shrugged and sez 'more work for us fixing it later'. I thought he'd explode, so it must have been quite a lot of money. Gi's another - want one yourself, Mike?"

"Right gentlemanly of you: churlish to refuse."

"But anyway, if you think it takes a lot of effort for just two people to put the damn thing up, just think about getting it down again without ruining it. Took us half the afternoon, and by the time we'd finished, well, I think old Shuffle must have been on a promise or something, way he legged it. Still and all, I've enough to settle me slate out of it. Right, those slipped down well. Take these two over to the darts?"

regards
Andy A

Gn15: Gnot so much a scale, more a state of mind
gnine: less is the gnew more
GnTonic - enjoy irresponsibly

Hilarious Andy, brings back so many memories of evenings spent in the little village pub. I dont remember anybody called Shuffle, but the mental picture your and Gerry's posts created, could fit several of the old characters

Oh and there is nothing wrong with hanging the gate the wrong way, it is quite common practice. It allows the gate to drop, which means you have to lift it to move it. Often used that way as livestock are not able to lift it

richard andrews wrote::lol: Old shuffle, he's bin back and fixed another bar to the backside of the gate ,the right way up!Then he went off, mumbling to himself That'all teach Her to say MY gates wrong way round!!!

Thanks lads

Regards Richard

Looks like "Her" upat House 'as bin trumped by Shuffle.
She thought he'd Gneed to take gate down to remove strut an' refix it.
Shuffle knew a quick fix was to add another strut.
Shuffle an' Gooner made it looked like it took all afternoon, didn't want "Her" to think she'd been shortchanged did they. Did you hear about the bother they 'ad whilst building the Greenhouse.

I did hear that Old Shuffle was heard to mutter later on "Never known a night like it, and 'baint looking forward to the journey home n'ither!"

He didn't have his usual rough scrumpy either, after her up at t'manor suggested a wine. He mistook it for she was havin' a moan or that she was a bit teasy or mezzed. Well all hell broke loose then and 'He who has to Obey' gained another right shinner. Fair put Old Shuffle off his 'Old Peculiar' and so he was actually seen in the Lounge bar sipping a Pino Colada Put all the other drinkers off. But just before he keeled over he was heard to say "I'll give her strained pineapple juice" - we think that the Pino Colada must have been spiked, although it didn't have an umbrella on top.

Simon the "not at all cross"-kitter.
I'm looking for that decrepit look. What, I just need to look in the mirror?

Narrow gauge Nutter wrote:Looking at the first 2 pics, shouldn't the brace on the gate go the other way?

Not if you want to follow 15" gauge prototypes it shouldn't. The firm that built the frame ledge and brace doors for the Perrygrove carriage shed braced them the wrong way round. And one of our goat pens has a gate like that.

However if you are going to model doors and gates with the bracing wrong you need to let them drop a bit - like our carriage shed doors before we rebuilt them, and the unrebuilt goat pen gate.

[quote="Artizen"]But can it jump from rail to rail like Danny McGaskill!!!![/quote]Hi Richard Good to see you at Sutton Coldfield when at last you watched play trains with my Gn15 layout Ecclestone Manor

Many thanks for your support and pestering into me building the layout now working on a plan for a new one Chebstone Cider Company.

MichaelPG wrote:It's an 0-2-2-0 which we use for track inspection. It hates dogspikes. It loves fishplates. I could go on.... but I wont.

later, Forrest Today's scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality. -- Nikola Tesla, July, 1934

Saw Greenhouse Sidings in the flesh at Shildon at the weekend excellant little layout best in show for me

Mike Lee

You should always go to the last one first!
You should cross all your bridges before you come to them!
Life is too short for counting rivets!
What happened to things that you dropped before Newton discovered Gravity?